Accessing healthcare
Accessing healthcare can pose problems for autistic children and adults, but there are techniques and resources that may help. Click icon to find out more.
Different not less
Steve Silberman puts some flesh on the bones of this slogan with hard-headed analysis and vision. Click icon for our page about it.
Cerebra
This UK based website offers a wealth of information. They work to improve the lives of children with brain conditions, including autism. Click icon for their Advice & support page. opics include legal, financial, educational and emotional & mental health.
Accessing children’s services
Professor Luke Clements, of the University of Leeds, considers the legal duties that children’s services in England are under when assessing the social care needs of disabled children with autism. He outlines the problems many families experience when councils have policies that discriminate against children with autism. Click icon for the video of his talk.new
Toolkit for accessing services
Cereba has produced a toolkit that aims to support disabled people and carers, as well as their families and advisers, who are encountering difficulties with the statutory agencies in relation to the provision of health, social care and education support services. It was developed at Cardiff Law School.
Click icon to view 2021 version or download the latest.
Parent guides
Cerebra has produced parent guides on many topics. Click icon to see them all.new Some seem particularly good.
Autism strategy
The Autism act 2009 required the Government to introduce and keep under review an adult autism strategy. Lincolnshire partnership board (LAPB) was formed in 2009 as a response to the 2009 Autism act and the national strategy to deliver the Lincolnshire strategy. The revised strategy of 2021 extended the scope of the strategy to children.
The Autism act 2009 required the Government to introduce and keep under review an adult autism strategy. The revised strategy of 2021 extended the scope of the strategy to children. Click icon for more on how it developed.
Moving house
Children on the autistic spectrum can find the idea of moving house unsettling, but there are things could do that might help. Click icon for an easy reading guide for parents.
Here a more detailed guide. from Stages learning in California.
Using social stories seems to be widely recommended and are said to be helpful to all young children with autism. Kidsmunicate, the speech therapy people in Philadelphia, offer a guide to making your own social story.
Using social stories seems to be widely recommended and are said to be helpful to all young children with autism. Here is a social story templatePDF for children from Kidsmunicate – the speech therapy people in Philadelphia. They also offer an accompanying guide to making your own social story.
Simon Baron-Cohen
Here is a nuanced article about Simon Baron-Cohen’s views on autism, written in 2011. He is a professor and director of Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre. Click icon to view.
In this more recent article from 2020, the emphasis seems to have shifted a bit from understanding and addressing difficulties with autism to setting out the potential of the autistic mind. It reviews the book in which he describes autistic people as pattern seekers.
Learning disability partnership
The Lincolnshire Learning Disability Partnership aims to make sure that different people, organisations and agencies work together to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities. Board members include: people with a learning disability, parents and carers.
Click icon for more about them. Email: Marie.osullivan@voiceability.org 01522 706 580 This group is quite separate from the Lincolnshire Autism Partnership above.
GP register
NICE is recommending that GPs in England keep a register of patients with autism in order to improve the care they receive. The guidance from NICE needs to be accepted by NHS England before it is put into practice in GP surgeries in England.
For those worried about data security see Should people register? The information is stored at the NHS data centre and can only be seen with permission. People have to explain why they need your information and what they plan to do with it. This means that agencies such as social services, schools etc should not have access to this information.
Carers UK
Carers UK is a charity which works to help carers by providing information, advice, support and by campaigning for change. Click icon for their website.
- They offer a wide range of Help & advice including information on the range of financial support that is available to carers through the benefit system.
- For information about carer support specifically for carers of children under 18 and young carers, see Carer Assessments.
- For more detailed information see resources. Having the right information at the right time can make a huge difference for the carer and the person they care for.
- Have a look at their Helpline page for their helpline hours and more. Phone: 0808 808 7777.
For information specifically for carers of adults see our adult Care & Support page.
Family court
If you need legal support for a case about your child, maybe to do with care or adoption, you may want to know about CAFCAS. It stands for Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. Their website has menus for both Young people and Grown-ups. Click icon to browse.
Here are some Top tips for dealing with CAFCAS from Net Mums. Also, it might also be worth bearing in mind that the people at CAFCAS may not know how to deal with a child on the autistic spectrum. This link to a National Autistic Society web page about autism could be handy if you want something that might help them to understand your child.
Ofsted found Progress inadequate, in 2008, but things seem to have improved since then. The Guardian reported on apparent Success in 2012 of a management initiative to make the “health and wellbeing of social workers a priority in the workplace” in CAFCAS. Then in 2018 Ofstead published a glowing report.
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